Man and Machine
by Exorelix
Summary: Titans: Hammond's answer to the Infinite Stratos. A clash between technologies. An eccentric genius, terrified of his own creation. A scarred soldier, forced to live a life outside the battlefield. An invisible enemy, pulling the strings behind everything. And an inevitable war that draws closer in each passing moment. "If you want peace, prepare for war."(ISxTitanfall crossover)
1. Times Change

War never changes.

From the the first throw of a spear, to the first deployment of the atomic bomb, the outcome is always the same. Only the methods are different.

The world has changed a lot in the last 100 years. Forests became cities. Nations rose and fell. From the Nuclear Age to the Space Age. Telephones evolved from bulky, static boxes into portable, thin tablets. And soldiers evolved to _machines_.

The most significant moments in human history in a mere span of a recent century has changed more of man itself than the entire span of 100,000 years of human history combined.

And one of those defying moments, came in the form of the Robotics Age.

-

In 1993, one man with an outlandish vision set out to create a company focused on the field of robotics and engineering. He envisioned a world filled with machineries, all under the control of man. His brilliant mind gave the push his company needed to grow in the next 20 years, until they became widely known by the world as **Hammond Robotics**, the world's leading house in the field of advanced robotics and mechatronics.

As the years progressed, major advancements in technology and breakthroughs in science had only pushed the foundation laid by Hammond Robotics even further. What was once science fiction had become reality.

By 2013, robots have played a huge part in the world's major industries. Programmed automatons began replacing human workers in factories, fields of agriculture, and various other applications which require physical effort. The creation of MobileRobotic Versatile Entity(MRVN) Automated Assistants, also known simply as "Marvins", gave a huge success to the company as their use eventually became widespread among other major companies.

As with the development of more advanced robotic engineering, the Space Age had become more prevalent than before. Satellites and space rovers are more advanced and became mass-produced, and world governments and even private companies have taken interest in the topic of interplanetary travel and colonization. The demand for highly trained robotics engineers had never been higher.

The success of Hammond Robotics, however, have prompted the world's governments to consider a new reliable, albeit morally questionable, application for Hammond's technology: war economics.

Despite the beneficial progress in human society, technological marvel has made no impact on the ongoing battle of ideologies and politics that continued to plague the less fortunate parts of the world, where terms like peace and human decency are but mere words. At such troubling times, the thought of being able to reduce military casualty and enhancing effectiveness through the use of mechanical soldiers and advanced weaponry were definitely an interesting idea.

Unfortunately, not everything was going well for the company. That same year, a shocking incident caused grief among millions across the globe. William Hammond, the founder of Hammond Robotics, passed away. It was never known, or revealed, what the cause of his death was, though rumors told that it was apparently health-related.

Before his passing, he left a will leaving his legacy, and thus, his control over his entire company, to his 16 year old daughter, Alexandra Hammond. Despite her young age, she went on to take her deceased father's place as the chairman of Hammond Robotics, and continued to lead the company onwards, ensuring the production of Hammond tech went on unhindered.

In that golden age of technology, a young girl blessed with extraordinary intellect dreamt of becoming the next stepping stone in human progress, through her unrivalled intelligence. However, her genius initially went unnoticed by the science committee as her ideas for the use of exoskeletal technology in space exploration was scoffed at. Since Hammond's space rovers have proven to be more than efficient in the field of space exploration, the idea of human-controlled exoskeletons designed for that same reason was deemed unnecessary. They would never thought such a young girl would be capable of changing the world.

And then, the White Knight Incident happened.

2341 missiles launched from various military ships and bases around the globe directed towards the country of Japan, caused by a certain mysterious cyber terrorist who somehow managed to hack the entire world's military networks all at once. All seemed lost, until an unknown aircraft with unidentified technology managed to destroy each missile before they hit their target.

Without haste, the major world powers sent their military force to identify and if possible, capture or destroy the anomaly. Their efforts were for naught, as the aircraft singlehandedly repelled all of their attacks and held its own. Upon closer look, it was revealed the object was not an aircraft, but rather an airborne powered exoskeleton, whose pilot's identity had never been discovered. After the incident, the object disappeared was never seen again.

And thus, the **Infinite Stratos** was introduced to the world.

Faced with such an overpowered weapon, the nations of the world enacted the Alaska Treaty, which stated that the IS would never be used for military use and that existing IS technology must be shared and distributed equally among all nations included, to prevent any power shifts among the nations. Only 467 IS cores, the most important component of an IS, were created. The creator of the IS, now known as Tabane Shinonono, after introducing the IS and releasing the IS cores to the world, had suddenly disappeared from the face of the globe. Since then, major world governments have been actively tracking down the mad genius for her priceless intellect regarding her own creation.

The introduction of the IS had a major effect on society, however, as it was eventually revealed that the exoskeletons can only be operated by females for reasons unknown. The power balance between genders were broken, with women beginning to dominate society over men.

Despite the enactment of the Alaska Treaty, nations all around the globe, in fear of the terrifying power of the Infinite Stratos, had begun focusing their resources on researching possible anti-IS weaponry and even developing their own IS force inside their military to combat any possible IS-based attacks. The small number of existing IS cores made the creation of IS units all the more significant and valuable, further cementing the IS' position as a powerhouse in military tech. It was during this time that the governments realized they needed a technological edge to create countermeasures against any possible IS attacks.

This is where the role of a certain major robotics company come into play. Being the leading brand in the field of robotics engineering, Hammond Robotics have made their mark in military influence. Their focus have shifted from being pioneers in robotics engineering, to the production of military hardware. The production of modern infantry exoskeletons, and the BRD-01 Automated Infantry "Spectres", as well as advanced combat vehicles such as the atmospheric combat aircraft Phantoms and the aerial transport dropship Goblins, have become increasingly popular amongst the world's militaries.

Yet, despite their products being significantly better than conventional military products, the IS was still considered a powerful trump card whose technological superiority remain in contrast to the rest of the world. Furthermore, not every country has the funds required to fully replace their conventional military with Hammond's advanced military hardware and products, thus over 70% of the world's military power at that point was still comprised of conventional hardware and regular manpower.

Although, not all nations accepted the distribution of the IS cores. One nation in particular, which also happened to be one of the world's major powers, is the United States. Initially, it was a mystery as to why the US decided to decline the distribution of IS cores, however the involvement of a certain independent company might provide a reasonable excuse for the US' unreasonable decision.

More accurately, their involvement in another certain tragic incident involving rogue IS which cost the lives of hundreds of innocents, around 5 years after the White Knight Incident.

The incident that happened at an integral location in the States, at an especially important time for the nation. An incident that changed the world, more than it already had.

Now referred to as the Washington Incident, the attack was seen as a deliberate terrorist attack on the White House, in an effort to cripple the US by wiping out their political leaders. On July 4th, 2018, the day of the American Independence Day, three rogue experimental unmanned ISes, whose systems were possibly hacked by an unidentified cyber terrorist, wreaked havoc upon the city, and sieged the White House, bombarding it with missiles. Due to the surprise attack, the military weren't fully prepared, and thus their response to the conflict were too late. But despite their blunder, the attack was somehow successfully repelled by another third party.

Uncovered footage of the unexpected attack from a nearby news helicopter which fortunately survived the attack shocked world leaders and people worldwide, not because of the devastating loss caused by the rogue unmanned ISes, but because of what came _after_.

_

As one of the rogue ISes, a Gen 2 Rafael Revive, began aiming its weapon towards the revolving news helicopter from afar, a loud thunderous sound originated from the sky, and the Rafael Revive was immediately _crushed_ under the immmense weight of a huge metallic object dropping right on top of it.

The sheer force of the drop wasn't enough to destroy the IS, but its artificial life was cut short when the unknown robotic object pulled out a large bulky cannon from its back and pulled the trigger, unleashing dozens of large explosive rounds which effectively depleted the IS' energy shield and continued to destroy the IS itself, reducing it to pieces.

The two remaining rogue ISes took note of their fallen brethren and began assaulting the mysterious robotic entity, which responded by summoning an energy wall which blocked the ISes' projectiles. The entity began its own assault by bombarding both ISes with a salvo of guided missiled which curiously _passed_ through the wall.

The entity sprang forward with shocking speed for its size, continuously firing explosive rounds and launching guided rockets towards one of the ISes, quickly depleting its shield, rendering it vulnerable and causing it to land on the ground. It never got the chance to fly again, as with a sudden dash in speed, the entity delivered a powerful fatal punch which destroyed the IS' chassis, shutting it down permanently.

The last remaining IS tried flying away in desperation to keep distance away, but its efforts were fruitless as the entity switched its weapon into a long cannon while deploying a couple of mines towards the location of the IS, which launched tethers that prevent the IS from flying above 10 feet off the ground. As the IS was pinned, its only advantage having been wiped away, it was too late to respond to a charged shot from the entity's railgun, chipping away a third of its shield. Two more rapid shots in succession followed by a hail of cluster missiles proved too much for the IS, and it was eventually turned into a pile of smoldering metal.

_

The final scene of the footage revealed the appearance of the entity more clearly. It was clearly a mechanized exoskeleton, but unlike the Infinite Stratos, had a closed chassis where its pilot would've been, if it had one, and a much bulkier design compared to the IS' sleeker structure. It was also seemingly heavier and nearly twice as tall as a regular IS.

Despite how the object looked, none who had seen the clip could deny its effectiveness and ferocity, and the fact that it bore a familiar symbol on the side plate of its chassis shocked the world furthermore.

Hammond Robotics have finally revealed **their** trump card to the world, proving and cementing themselves as the prime example of technological marvel once again. They thought this, was the United States' response to the Infinite Stratos. A weapon which could rival one of the most powerful superweapons in human history.

The Titans.

And thus began the unexpected arms race between two of the deadliest weapons known to man.

Titans, while initially incapable of flight as well as lacking fast mobility, eventually went through major upgrades over the years to make them comparable to their rival, the IS. Another major advantage the Titans have against the IS, is the nonexistent "women-only" factor. Both men and women are capable of operating a Titan. This came as a shock to the general public, particularly the fact that women may no longer have as much of an influence in society as before.

During their introduction to the world, the Alaska Treaty did not include Titans as well, and such the existence of another superweapon rivalling the IS spread a sense of fear and panic among world leaders, especially considering that Hammond Robotics, though claiming to be an independent organization, had close ties with the US government. Not surprising considering the founder of the company himself was an American, and most of their production facilities are situated somewhere in the West.

The Washington Incident sparked some controversy, as some believed the attack was staged, deliberately planned just to have an excuse to reveal the capabilities of the Titans to the world in a theatrical manner, similar to another certain incident from 5 years before. Others began putting distrust towards IS companies and their products, particularly the Dunois Corporation, the company responsible for the production of the Rafael Revive model, due to their seemingly lackluster digital security concerning their line of IS models were the ones responsible in the incident.

Eventually Hammond Robotics came to terms with the rest of the global nations, and the Alaska Treaty was reworked on to include Titans as well. Though several changes in the laws have been made regarding the Titans, such as:

1\. As a neutral party, Hammond Robotics are independent of the political influence of other nations. All existing Titans are sole property of Hammond Robotics and thus do not belong to any one particular nation regardless of current relationship between Hammond Robotics and said nation.

2\. Hammond Robotics must offer sufficient assistance to any nation in need; Titans, as well as other Hammond military assets are to be employed in response to any IS **or **Titan-based aggressions that threaten the national security of _any_ nation included in the Treaty as an act of national defense.

3\. All development projects regarding Titans with the purpose of further advancing Titan technology may be kept confidential by Hammond Robotics should they wish as long as they remain adhered to the first two terms stated above.

Despite the terms written by the Treaty, some nations still grew wary of the US' trustworthiness and their relations with Hammond Robotics, considering the latter was primarily based on the States itself, even comprised mostly of American background. Not to mention the uncanny decision of the former to decline the IS cores. Some speculated that both sides were secretly cooperating with one another while maintaining a fake facade to the rest of the world, with the US government supplying Hammond with funds, and Hammond, in return, producing top-secret military technology to give the US an edge over other major powers.

Even though Titans were considered as easier to manufacture compared to the Infinite Stratos whose production line is limited due to the limited amount of IS cores in existence, Hammond Robotics admitted that only less than a couple dozen Titans have ever been produced in existence, compared to the hundreds of available IS units produced by other nations.

In the year 2023, nearly 10 years since the first introduction of the IS, and 5 years since the revelation of the Titans, Hammond Robotics have become an independent powerhouse among global superpowers, being the largest corporate entity without political influence in the world, and also the producer of the only thing rivaling the Infinite Stratos, the Titans. In an effort to achieve a more mutual relation among nations involved with the Alaska Treaty, Hammond Robotics struck an important contract to send two of their best Pilots and their Titans to enroll in the Infinite Stratos Academy located in the nation of Japan, to participate in the international Mondo Grosso tournament, as representatives of Hammond Robotics.

The contract was merely an excuse to measure the capabilities of a Titan in a real fight against the well-known Infinite Stratos. The data recorded would then be used to further enhance both the Titans and IS' technology and improve on aspects based on one's performance against the other. Considering that only one representative is allowed per country, or in Hammond's case, company, it was decided that one of the two enrolled Pilots would be chosen to become their representative, based on their overall skills against one another.

In the eyes of the entire world, this contract would spark an unprecedented battle of man and machine. A battle that would be a shame to miss. After all, a clash of superiority between two deadliest weapons known to mankind, was a sight to behold indeed.

And thus, another significant chapter in history began to be written.

-

In the past 30 years, the world has certainly changed. Technology have pushed humanity beyond the limits of what was once thought impossible. Human civilization had never been more triumphant in its eternal quest to rise higher than before, challenging itself as the sky was no longer the limit.

Yet, one thing remained constant. Perhaps it was simply human nature to seek out violence among their own kind, that no matter how far humanity has progressed, their primal instincts could never be ridden. History tend to repeat itself, regardless of how much humanity tried to learn from it.

As the old saying goes, one must always anticipate war during the time of peace, else all that stand will fall.

The world continues to live under an illusion cast by the light, as the cold reality continues to grow in the dark. Such is the reality of war.

Our methods may have changed, but the result is always the same.

Because war...**war never changes**.

\--

\--

**Author's Note**

**So, this is an idea that just popped into my head one day, and since then, it just _wouldn't_ get out of my mind. So I finally decided to write about it just to satisfy myself. So here it is, a crossover of Titanfall and Infinite Stratos, of all things.**

**I wanted to make a much more serious and darker look at the world of IS, with focus on several main protagonists(some of them OCs) rather than just one, and decided to add Titanfall as well, because I loved Titanfall 2, and I loved the campaign, the gameplay, the lore, the universe, and I was really bored and there was nothing better for me to do when I began writing this.**

**In case you have noticed, yes I changed some of the lore of Titanfall in this story so that it could fit better with the IS-verse, like the IMC not existing yet since humanity hasn't left the solar system in this timeline, and the introduction of some of my own OCs, including a minor(or major, depends on how you look at it) rewrite of existing Titanfall characters to better serve the storyline. Some characters from IS-verse may also get a bit of a character rewrite(for example, Ichika in this story may not be so dense like a black hole unlike his canon counterpart). Jack Cooper and BT-7274 may also be in this story, or maybe not, I don't know I haven't decided yet.**

**I also**** have an idea involving the Titans themselves also getting some original buffs compared to their canon counterparts, such as all Titans having flight abilities and maybe even capable of evolving into multiple forms. These are all just ideas though, so if you're reading this, feel free to comment and tell me whether or not I should use this idea.**

**If**** you like this story so far(using the broadest definition of a "story", since this chapter is really just a major Star Wars-esque exposition dump), feel free to favourite, follow, and comment. If you don't like it...well too bad, I'm not rewriting this whole story. If you're actually hoping for the next chapter...well I hope you could be patient, coz I'm not sure when exactly I am going to update this again. Writer's block can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.**

**Anyway****, thanks for reading this far. Sayonara, or whatever.**


	2. A New Assignment

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Empty the mind. Focus on the surroundings. Find your path. Load your gun.

Those words keep repeating in his head. The ticking sound echoed in his ears.

The ticking becomes more intense, with each passing second.

The ticking stops.

**"Begin Session****."**

He sprang forwards.

Jumping off the platform, his Jump Kits flared to life.

Pressing his feet against the wall, he ran horizontally across the vertical surface.

4 holographic human targets sprang upwards from a considerable distance. He wasted no time.

His hands were quick, his P2016 roared thunderously. 4 ballistic rounds hit their mark.

Landing on the solid ground, his speed never faltered. He took a quick look at his watch.

25 seconds.

6 more targets popped up. He was prepared for it.

6 consecutive shots, each one did not miss.

A red horizontal laser suddenly flared from the walls, speeding towards him.

Instinctively, he slid, his head barely missing the laser.

Jerking up, he popped 2 more shots, each one directed at the 2 targets.

18 seconds.

Gaining himself some momentum, he leapt from an elevated position onto another vertical section. The Jump Kit did its job.

4 more targets, each further from the other, made their appearance.

He shot the farthest 3 in rapid succession, before running up to the closest one, delivering a powerful kick shattering the holographic image.

He continued onward, into another large room.

12 seconds.

Two metallic rods extended upwards from opposite sides, each one firing a horizontal laser at different heights, at his eye level and knee level. Both lasers move in a circular motion from opposite directions, trapping him in the middle of the path.

Focus. Anticipate. Time slowed to a crawl.

He leapt to the air, performing a horizontal corkscrew, successfully avoiding both lasers at the same time.

Gracefully landing on his one foot, he immediately shot two consecutive rounds at each pole, deactivating the lasers.

8 seconds.

6 targets popped up, 3 on each side of the room far away from the other.

He pulled out two frag grenades and threw one at each side. The explosions that followed took care of all 6 targets.

Not much time left. The destination is on the higher floor. Only one way up.

Sprinting as fast as he could, he leapt onto a wall and ran vertically upwards. Activating his Jump Kit for one last minor boost, his feet touched the wall opposite of him. A few more feet up, and he pushed himself forwards off the wall surface.

Sliding onto the flat platform, his left foot crossed the finish line.

**"Session End."**

**"Current time: 28.5 seconds. Previous time: 30.1 seconds. Congratulations, you have beaten your previous record by 1.6 seconds."**

Deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He emptied his gun, and inserted a fresh magazine. The gun made its way back to its holster.

He clicked his tongue upon seeing the record time projected on the screen. He could've done better than that. He should've done better than that.

Beating one's own personal record should be something worth being proud of, yet he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He had expected to be able to shed off at least 3 seconds from his previous time.

The Hammond Pilot Combat Simulation Facility was the place he would often visit to hone his skills. Every now and then he would try to beat his own record everytime he rerun a course. Granted, he was only given an official certification as a Combat Pilot quite recently which would make him technically a beginner, but he intended to get to the same level as his mentor was, as quickly as he can.

Grabbing a soda can from a vending machine nearby, provided for Pilots who require nourishment after training in the area, he slowly washed away his thirst.

"Pilot Jack Cooper?"

A stranger's voice caused him to turn around in curiosity. He saw a fellow Rifleman waiting at the exit door of the training course.

"Dr. Hammond wants to see you, now. It's important."

Alexandra Hammond, the current chairman of one of, if not the largest corporate entity in the world, Hammond Robotics, wanted to have a word with him? This ought to be interesting.

_

"So you want me...to attend a school?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous...but yeah, that's the gist of it."

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"

"Granted."

"It **is **ridiculous."

"But you're at the right age. Granted, you're still older than even the 3rd years over there...but you're still going to start out from the 1st year and attend the school like a normal highschool student. Well, as _normal_ as you could be, anyway."

"With all due respect, Dr. Hammond, I have served in the Frontier for 3 years, fighting in the shadowy parts of the world against our enemies. The Division is the only place I really belong. I'm not fit to lead a normal life. Not anymore. Especially not as a highschooler. And **especially** not in _that_ school."

"Look...I understand how you feel about the IS. You had a natural talent for fighting, and you were smarter than any other kid your age. But you never experienced the childhood that every other lucky kid had. War is the only thing you ever knew, and fighting is the only thing you're really good at. For now, the Middle East Frontier is relatively at peace, but we never know when the Insurgency will strike again. They possessed advanced weaponry only Hammond and IS corporations are capable of producing, and we need to find out _where_ they're getting it from, and wether our suspicions are correct."

"Which is **exactly** why I should stay in the Division and fight. Ever since the loss of Site Demeter, Hammond's resources and production rates are starting to run thin. We lost a number of good Pilots and Titans that day."

"I appreciate your spirit, Pilot. And I understand that, recent events may have affected you on a personal level. But let's not forget, Hammond needs to continue keeping face in front of the other countries involved in the Treaty. This temporary contract would allow both sides to learn more about each other's technology and retain friendly relations without us aligning to one nation and possibly making an enemy of the rest of the world. As long as we remain mutual towards all involved parties, we could protect our independent position and strengthen our influence on the political side.

The council has agreed to send two of Hammond's Pilots their Titans to the IS Academy as our representatives, which includes you. The IS Academy is a neutral ground so no other political powers could intervene, you would have total freedom developing your Titan there with the funds provided by the government.

But, that's not all. At the same time, you would act as a spy and report to the Division in secret about any crucial and confidential information that could help us find the Insurgency's allies and if possible, strike them down as well. You're not the only one who wanted payback for what happened at Devon Island. We all share the same sentiment. The Echelon can't keep hiding forever."

"So...you want me to _pretend_ to be a mere student enrolling in what is essentially an all-girls "battle" school, while at the same time being undercover and figure out what the hell is behind all these recent attacks against Hammond, while being stuck in a classroom filled with hormonal teenagers all the time?"

"Pretty much. Consider this a bit of a holiday. You've done enough for our corporation. Although, the last part was a bit hypocritical coming from you. Technically, you're also a teenager."

"No offense, ma'am, but I'm pretty sure being 18 years old is considered legally adult here."

"Not in Japan. So, what do you say?"

"One more thing...what Titan will I be getting?"

"I think you already know the answer to that. You don't need to worry about anything else, all of your personal belongings and hardware have been packed and prepped for transport. Now we're just waiting for you to give in."

"...**sigh**...alright, when's my flight?"

-

Today wasn't exactly a good day for a certain young Pilot.

After a half-hour long meeting with the chairman of Hammond Robotics herself, Jack Cooper, an 18 year-old former youngest Rifleman in Hammond's Frontier Division, now among the youngest Pilots in Hammond's history, was now on a Crow dropship which was headed towards one of the places he least expected to ever set foot on. Infinite Stratos Academy. Even the name itself was enough to make his skin crawl, for very personal reasons.

It wouldn't really sound like a bad day for anyone else. Imagine getting enrolled in the most sophistically advanced school in the world, living your adolescent years constantly surrounded by hot female teenagers desperate to get into a man's pants. It sounded like every typical virgin guy's wet dream.

Except Jack Cooper wasn't your typical guy.

Staring at the Pilot helmet in his hands, his mind began shuffling through some rather unpleasant memories. The burning pain. The fires coming from everywhere. And the screams. He remembered it vividly.

He was present on that fateful day, the Washington Incident, when three rogue IS units came out from nowhere, and unleashed chaos among unsuspecting citizens, and attempted to destroy the White House. He would've been dead if that one heroic Titan and its Pilot didn't step in at the last second to dispatch the rogue ISes. That single moment gave him the drive to become what he is now.

After the incident, the destroyed IS units were confirmed to be experimental versions of actual Rafael Revive models, designed to function without human pilots. No country ever admitted to producing such units, as none was keen on taking the blame.

Jack was lucky to survive the attack, but that didn't change the fact he lost some things very dear to him that day. He wasn't the same ever since.

Such painful memories still stuck with him, no matter how hard he tried to forget it.

Being sent far away from the Frontier, away from all the chaos, might've been a blessing for anyone else. But for Jack, it was the kind of life he was mostly used with. 5 years of training and experience in the Frontier as a Rifleman, and later on as a Pilot, had irreversibly changed the very person he once was.

"Hey kid!! You doing alright? You kinda zoned out there for a second."

Jack broke out of his stupor, upon hearing the voice of the pilot who was piloting the Crow he was in.

"Yeah, it's nothing."

"Okay, then. What about the other kid?"

Jack knew what the pilot meant by "other kid". He wasn't the _only_ Pilot being sent to the ISA as Hammond's representative, after all.

His eyes darted towards another presence in the passenger seat opposite of him, another young Pilot just like him. About the same age as well. Only difference is, it's a she.

People have argued over the years over the question of which one is better: a Titan or an Infinite Stratos. Frankly, Jack liked to think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if there's one thing Titans have over IS, it's accessibility. Unlike the IS, Titans do not discriminate between genders. That's what Hammond wanted to demonstrate, by sending 2 of their representatives instead of just one.

Which brings him to the matter of the girl in front of him. Short, dark red hair, amber eyes, expressionless face. Sitting there like a statue. She was a true oddity, which was saying something since he had met some Pilots before who aren't exactly "normal", both appearance and personality-wise.

He only knew of her when they first met before this flight began, and after an hour of being stuck in the same craft together, the only thing he knew of her is her basic identity.

Zoe Grey, 18 years old. No known relatives. 4 years of service in the Frontier Division. Attained the Pilot Combat Certification around 6 months ago, much earlier than he did. Apparently not a talker.

Jack had tried to start a conversation with the female Pilot, but all he received was a name, and nothing else. Either she's shy, or he's really just not someone worth talking to in her eyes. Oh well, they'll get to know each better later on, once they become classmates in the Academy. Unless they're in different classes. How many classes are there anyway?

He mentally sighed. He didn't know how long he would have to stay in this school. He'd just hoped the days would pass by like mere seconds. He started to miss all his fellow Pilots back home, and slightly envy them as well. At least they wouldn't have to put up with whatever's coming for him from now on.

"She's..fine." He almost forgot to respond to the pilot's earlier question.

"Well, heads up. We're almost there. IS Academy, just up ahead."

The pilot's sentence was not unheard of by him. He wasn't sure what kind of reception both Titan Pilots would get upon taking their first step into this academy. Not to mention him being the **only **guy there.

Okay, that wasn't exactly true. There was one other interesting individual who also recently entered the Academy as a first year.

Interesting because he was the younger brother of the "Brunhilde", supposably the strongest IS pilot who won the first Mondo Grosso championship and became a finalist in the second, only because there was an emergency that forced her to forfeit in the finals.

That's right. **He.** The first and _only_ male who could pilot an IS, Ichika Orimura.

-

_"Ichika Orimura...what about him?"_

_"You've heard it in the news. The first male capable of piloting an IS, something that was once thought to be impossible. Even Hammond's finest engineers couldn't figure out the cause of the IS cores' apparent androphobic nature. "Whoever designed these things was a helluva genius," that's what they said._

Mr_. Orimura was sent to the IS Academy as a way to pry off unwanted attention from world governments wanting a piece of his DNA for research. But that's not going to stop the Echelon. Someone like him would prove to be a great asset, or obstacle for whatever the Echelon is planning in the future. And they're going to do something about that. We're going to use that fact to our advantage, and be prepared, should they ever strike._

This_ is your second objective, Pilot Cooper. Find out everything you can about Ichika Orimura, his relationship with the "Brunhilde" Chifuyu Orimura, and anything that may be classified involving his role in the Academy, and anyone else who might have some keen interest towards him."_

_"Aside from us?"_

_"Exactly."_

_"So does this mean, I'm going to become like, his personal bodyguard?"_

_"More like a stalker, but both terms sound accurate enough."_

_"Fine, I'll try my best."_

_"Good luck, Pilot."_

_-_

After recalling the conversation, Jack couldn't help but feel a wave of trepidation hitting his thoughts. After all, the Echelon was a force to be reckoned with. A grim reminder of what would happen when artificial intelligence goes too far, beyond man can control.

The Battle of Demeter was a devastating loss for Hammond. Frankly, it was a devastating loss to everyone on the defensive side. The Echelon was the one on the offensive. No one was prepared for it.

Obviously, the council never revealed anything sensitive to the world governments. Any questions were answered with finely crafted lies, like one of the nuclear plants suffered a huge meltdown, or something along those lines. After all, the sudden loss of one of Hammond's biggest production facilities was sure to raise some questions.

Sure, the IS Academy was nothing to be laughed at. Hundreds of students each one piloting weapons of mass destruction doesn't sound like an appropriate target. But if even one of Hammond's best facilities could fall to such an enemy, who would be ignorant enough to claim the ISA would have a much better chance?

More unpleasant memories surfaced, but he quickly washed it away from his head.

Looking out the window, he could see the IS Academy, just barely visible in the horizon, its image becoming bigger with each passing second.

He couldn't help but mentally sigh once more. It was going to be a long year.

\--

\--

**Author's Note**

**Finally I decided to write a second chapter. Although, this is mostly a character introduction and still a bit of an exposition dump, so the actual story with the IS cast included are still yet to come.**

**I decided**** to include the protagonist of Titanfall 2's campaign as the protagonist of this story. This is technically still an OC, since I changed his background and backstory, and decided to make him a teenager instead of an adult. His personality will pretty much be the same like his canon counterpart, although it would be altered a bit, or a lot, considering his different background. BT-7274, our friendly neighbourhood Titan, will also make an appearance, don't worry.**

**Some**** terms like the Frontier, the Division, the Echelon, and the Insurgency will be further explained in later chapters, and there are still more new characters to come.**

**Anyway****, thanks for reading. And I'll see you in the next chapter. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.**


	3. Pilots vs Pilots

"Representatives of Hammond? I thought their only focus is in Mars colonization and military armaments. They are already years ahead of NASA in aerospace engineering, and their Spectres are widely used by most militaries. Why would they suddenly be interested in participating in a worldwide IS tournament they haven't been a part of for the past decade?"

"You're not the only one who thought the same, Orimura-san. Ever since they showed the Titans to the world 5 years ago, people have been comparing them with the IS for god knows how long. Of course, the world mainly still think that the IS is superior, but a lot can change in 5 years."

"Pardon me, Kutsuwagi-san. I'm just concerned that Hammond Robotics may be planning on something that could be considered morally and legally questionable. What if they're working with Phantom Task to steal our IS cores? Our academy's security will be seriously compromised, and worse, we might not even realize it until it's too late."

"Don't jump to conclusions too quickly, Orimura-san. While I can agree with you that Hammond's decision is suspicious at best, they are still considered a mutual party whose interests are shared by all of the world's leading nations, Japan included. The government officials have agreed to Hammond's demands, with reasons that have been deemed classified, even kept secret from me, as though my position as the principal of this academy matters little to them. We have no choice but to simply comply.

I know how you feel about this, Orimura-san. Phantom Task has been hiding their tracks and operations rather efficiently from us, even we couldn't figure out what they're next move is. My advice to you is, just try and be vigilant. Keep an eye out on the two new representatives. That is the least we could do for now."

"...understood, Kutsuwagi-san."

\--

Today is not a good day for a certain homeroom teacher, who also happened to be the first Brunhilde, and older sister of the only male IS pilot in existence.

Her recent conversation with the principal of IS Academy, Juuzou Kutsuwagi, did little to rid her of her anxiety. A constant fear that something bad was about to happen never left her mind. Though her peers did not notice it due to her exceptional talent at hiding her own emotions.

Chifuyu Orimura stood with anticipation, the serious look in her eyes never fading. Alongside her, was Maya Yamada, assistant homeroom teacher of Class One, who was looking rather cheerful upon thinking that she will get to meet two new, hopefully friendly, students for the first year.

The Crow dropship carefully landed on a constructed helicopter pad on top of one of the academy's buildings, reserved usually for VIPs and other special guests. The powerful gust of wind followed nearly uplifted Maya's skirt, much to her embarassment.

As the dropship's engines died down, and its rear ramp finally opened, the two new additions to the IS Academy finally made their appearance.

The first thing Chifuyu noted was how..unusual both of their attires were. They have not been given their school uniforms yet, so it was understandable for their clothing to be different. But that's still no excuse for these two kids to be wearing military-grade armor of all things. Not to mention they were carrying futuristic helmets between their hands and hips and other distinct items on their persons she could not recognize. They were here to enroll in a school, not be recruited into a warzone, for god's sake!

The second thing she noticed was that the two representatives were of different genders. The girl had short crimson hair, amber eyes, and an expression that made her almost think she was looking in a mirror. The boy, however...

Chifuyu nearly lost her composure for a split second. The boy...he looks almost like Ichika.

Except his hair was shorter, he had emerald eyes, and he lacked the usual smile that Ichika often carries. Instead, in its place was a face of silent lamentation.

For a brief moment, she gravely imagined how Ichika would be like if he was never rescued by her. How he would have ended up if she never came for him. Is that the face that he would possess? A face devoid of radiance?

"Psst...Orimura-san, are you okay?"

Maya's voice brought Chifuyu back to reality. She realized she had accidentally zoned out for a while, and now she was trapped in an awkward position as the two Hammond representatives, now standing right in front of her, started looking at her weirdly with their eyebrows raised. She managed to hide her embarassment by quickly regaining her serious composure.

"*cough*...pardon me, gentlemen. It's just not everyday you get to see a real life Titan Pilot, much less two of them, considering Hammond's confidentiality. You must be Hammond's representatives, I assume?"

Thankfully her English wasn't terrible, though she felt her accent was a bit much.The boy was the first one to speak.

"That's right. Jack Cooper, representative of Hammond Robotics. You must be Ms. Chifuyu Orimura?"

"That is correct. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cooper. And she is...?"

"Zoe Grey, representative of Hammond Robotics, reporting for duty, ma'am."

The girl spoke up with a regal stance, showcasing a formality one would only see in the military. Which was something that slightly bothers Chifuyu. Infantry armor, manner of speech similar to a soldier, something was not right with these two. And did she really just call her "ma'am"? Now she felt really old.

"Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Grey. Now I assume you both had been informed of the rules and basics related to this academy and its functionality?"

"Yes, ma'am." "Affirmative."

"Ahh...my..name..Maya Yamada! Nice..meet you..."

The sudden voice of a certain green-haired assistant homeroom teacher with quite rusty English caused the two to gaze in curiosity. However, Chifuyu managed to answer their questions before they even asked.

"Pardon Ms. Yamada's introduction, she's still trying to get the hang of her English." Chifuyu's explanation simply caused the aforementioned Ms. Yamada to blush in embarassment.

"In case you're wondering, she's the assistant homeroom teacher of Class 1, which is also the class you both will be in. I have been informed that your belongings have been sent via a different transport, and your rooms have also been assigned.

I'd also like to inform you that there has been a change of plans. As newcomers to this academy, you both were supposed to be given a tour of the IS Academy first so you could get yourselves adjusted to your new homes for the rest of this year, but considering your flight was a bit late, lesson periods have already begun right now. So I'm afraid that'll have to wait until later. I'll also have our staff bring you two Japanese-English translation books that you might need."

"Ah, that won't be necessary, Orimura-san." The male Pilot, Jack Cooper, spoke up in surprisingly fine Japanese, surprising her.

"We have had time to practise our Japanese before coming here, Orimura-san. We have not memorized everything yet, but we know plenty to speak casually and formally." The female Pilot, Zoe Grey, explained in perfect Japanese, an action which also slightly surprised the male Pilot.

Rasing her eyebrow, Chifuyu simply accepted the situation. "Very well then. That makes everything a lot simpler. And call me Orimura-sensei. Yamada-san will escort the two of you to your class."

"Excuse me, Orimura-sa..sensei, but I thought we were supposed to have an...entrance exam, like all new pilots do." Jack asked a rather appropriate question towards Chifuyu. A question which was quickly answered.

"Well, I was told by your superiors that since you pilot Titans instead of IS, a pilot exam which was designed to test beginner IS pilots, would rather be unsuitable for the two of you.

However, the principal have agreed to arrange a "mock battle" between Hammond's representatives and the IS representatives. The battle will be held in one of the arenas, and the entire academy, as well as some VIP guests, will be present to watch the match live. Apparently a lot of people wants to see how Hammond Robotics' own Titans would fare against the Infinite Stratos, and the Academy is in no position to deny their requests.

The mock battle will be held after recess, so I will need the two of you to at least introduce yourself to your class first. But afterwards, I will expect great performance from two of Hammond's supposably finest Pilots."

As she was speaking, Chifuyu noticed something...missing from both the representatives. Something they shoud really have with them.

"Speaking of which...where are your Titans?"

Zoe was the first to speak.

"Titans lack the physical compression technology that all personal IS units possess, and as such they have to be physically transported via Widow dropships and airship carriers, while being stored as disassembled parts on the ship to optimize storage space. Combat Titans will often be quickly reassembled for rapid deployment and dropped from the outer atmospheric orbit during combat. This method of deployment have been proven to be extremely precise and generally takes under a minute, though the rate of deployment is still abysmal compared to the IS."

Needless to say, Chifuyu wasn't expecting the...lecture she had just received. Though it definitely cleared things up a little.

"Ahem...alright, then when can we expect their arrival?"

"Our Titans are still onboard the _Solaris_ as we speak, but they should be ready for deployment anytime we need." Jack explained to her.

"Then why not send them now?"

Upon hearing Chifuyu's question, Jack simply smirked, catching her slightly off guard.

"Let's just say we want to make it, one hell of an entrance."

Chifuyu merely raised an eyebrow in return, but decided she had received enough answers.

"Well, in that case..welcome to the IS Academy. Your superiors have sent me a special package for you, containing clothes that you would wear to replace your current...attire. Normally I would object students wearing their own personal clothing since this is an academy and academy uniforms are a regulation, but I guess you two are a special case, so you'll be given some leeway. Now get changed, I don't want to see you walking around this school looking like a couple of misplaced Marines."

"Yes, Orimura-sensei." "Roger, ma'am."

\--

Jack Cooper was not having a good day.

To be fair, he wasn't expecting for this day to go over well anyway. Being forced to learn Japanese before coming here, and though he's a fast learner, he's still struggling to memorize some of the more complicated the words.

Afterwards, having to strip his armor and Pilot attire to be replaced with a military jacket and cargo pants but with blue-white colour themes to match the theme of the IS Academy uniforms. He almost never took off his armor the whole time he served in the Frontier. It made him feel naked and vulnerable without his armor vest and Kevlar harness.

And then he had to share a room with the other Pilot who couldn't seem to talk like a normal human being. Not to say he didn't like her company, at least she's polite and quiet, if a little too formal.

And now this.

"Another boy in our school?"

"So both men and women can pilot Titans?"

"Look at how weird their uniforms are.."

"Is it just me or does he look a bit like Ichika?"

"He looks like a bad guy."

"He looks kinda handsome.."

"Wait, what?"

Apparently their introduction caused a lot of commotion amongst the students of Class 1, mostly directed at him. Most of the girls either looked at him in awe or mild curiosity, and some of them even gave him a...lustful gaze? The hell?

This is starting to feel like his first day as a recruit in the Frontier Division, except it was even more awkward. Instead of a bunch of Riflemen staring at him because he was around 10 years younger than everyone else, now he was stared at by a class full of female teenagers because he had a different set of genitals than everyone else. It was like these girls had never seen an actual male before.

However, what really caught Jack's attention, was the presence of one other male in said class, more accurately, his primary objective for being here in the first place.

Ichika Orimura.

The boy in question, locked eyes with him in bewilderment, and he couldn't help but feel the same. Aside from the different clothing, difference in hair length, and different eye colors, they both look almost the same. The boy, Ichika, seemed uneasy upon locking eyes with him, for reasons unknown.

He realized that a few of the girls harbored a look of malice directed at his companion, Zoe. Like a weird mixture of hatred and jealousy. He wasn't sure why exactly. He's not exactly good at reading other people, but even an infant would feel the ill tension growing among some of the students upon seeing their arrival.

The sudden sound of a bang caused the girls to shit their mouths, courtesy of an agry homeroom teacher smashing her fist against the teacher's table.

"SILENCE!!! Everyone, as you already know, Jack Cooper and Zoe Grey will be representing Hammond Robotics to demonstrate their Titans and as a way to solidify business relations with the global nations. After recess, we will be arranging a mock battle against Hammond's representatives and the IS national candidates. This battle will not affect any rankings whatsoever.

However, that does not mean I don't expect you to do your best. The reputation of not only your nation which you represent, but also the IS as a whole, is at stake. Everyone in the Academy, as well as some VIP guests whose identities I will not reveal for privacy reasons, will be watching this match. Such circumstances, is why I shall personally choose the ones I think is best suited for the following match.

Ichika Orimura, Cecilia Alcott, I want the two of you to get prepared. You two will be going up against Jack Cooper and Zoe Grey after recess. The match will be held at Arena 6. I expect the best from you two, especially you, Orimura-kun."

The whole class focused their eyes onto Ichika with high expectations, which sligthly bothered the latter. Ichika wasn't sure how well he would perform in this battle, considering how different Titans are compared to IS. How strong are their shields? How much firepower do they carry? Do they even have a weak spot?

Unbeknownst to him and Cecilia, another girl with long brown hair who also happened to be the childhood friend of the former, was glaring at them from behind in fiery envy.

"Us two, against them? Isn't that a bit unfair? I've heard that Titans are incapable of flight, so what chance do these two have against us when they can't even reach us?"

Cecilia's prideful voice caused Ichika to look at her in surprise. Her mocking the Hammond representatives definitely sounded like what she would usually do, but such an insult was sure to attract spiteful glares from the ones on the receiving side.

"Yeah, it is unfair for the both of you, so how about we take a handicap for you two?"

The question caused a lot of "oooh"s coming from the class, especially since it came from none other than the male Titan Pilot, Jack Cooper, who seemed to be trying to get on the England representative's nerves.

"Oho, what's this? Are you trying to take give us an advantage, when it should be the other way around? The IS have been the dominant weapon of mankind for over a decade, and your Titans have only recently made their debut to the world. Even then, you shouldn't be too confident of yourselves. After all, I, Cecilia Alcott, is the IS representative of England, and the role of being a national candidate is only given to the most elite IS pilots. Ichika-kun himself is also not bad in his skills, so what do you have to say about yourselves?"

Jack couldn't believe his eyes. This blonde girl, is actually trying to _challenge _a Pilot to a battle. A Vanguard Pilot at that. Two Vanguard Pilots, at that.

There used to be a saying that Riflemen often joke among themselves in the Frontier, and that was, "Never piss off a Pilot." Unfortunately, most of the stuff that happened in the Frontier was left classified by Hammond, and so the rest of the world didn't know much about what exactly Titans are actually capable of, so he couldn't really blame the blonde for being so ignorant.

Jack took a quick glance at Zoe, who simply nodded in silence. As if she knew what he was thinking, and simply agreed to it. They barely knew each other, but considering they were both Pilots, Jack had a feeling they both were thinking the same thing.

"How about this, then? Since you're so confident that you'll win against us, we'll take a handicap. We'll give you a **1 **minute head-start to try and force us to surrender while equipping your IS, and until 1 minute hasn't passed, we **won't** use our Titans. Although, we get to bring our own equipments into battle."

Jack's proposal caused everyone in the class to gasp wildly. Even Cecilia was taken aback. Ichika stared at the male Pilot, his eyes filled with shock. He's practically challenging the two IS pilots to attack them with their IS, while the former are rendered literally outmatched. The thought that they could somehow survive such an unfair battle was just unfathomable.

"Wait! I can't accept this. It's too dangerous for the two of you." Chifuyu decided to intervene, feeling that the commotion is getting out of hand.

"No offense, Orimura-senpai, but you're underestimating the capabilities of a Combat Pilot. That goes to you as well, Alcott-san. That is **not **a wise decision to make. As Pilots, we have experience not just in piloting Titans, but also how to fight _without_ them. We are not stupid as to giving ourselves an unwinnable chance. Cooper and I will take this handicap if you would allow it, Orimura-senpai. We only ask that you have more faith in us."

This answer was unexpected by anyone, since it came from Zoe, who had been relatively silent the whole time. Jack simply stared at her with amazement, clearly not expecting the female Pilot to speak up with a hint of anger in her tone.

'So she does have feelings. Good to know.'

Chifuyu struggled on what to say. On one hand, she'll be held responsible for whatever injuries might happen in this match should things go wrong. But on the other hand, she also wanted to see what these Pilots are capable of. And they don't seem like the type who would overstate their own abilities.

'I really want to know who these kids really are. This could be a good chance.'

She contemplated her choices, before eventually relenting.

"Very well..Jack Cooper and Zoe Grey will be given a 1 minute handicap in which they are not allowed to use their Titans in battle, only what they have on themselves. They will lose the moment they have been deemed unable to continue fighting or trapped in a deadly position and forced to forfeit. Ichika Orimura, Cecilia Alcott, I hope you will use your given edge wisely, and do not go overboard. Use as much non-lethal force as possible.

Lastly, I want all four of you to do your best in this match. Do not let me down. Dismissed."

\--

Jump Kits, check.

Cloaking Module,check.

Grappling hook, check.

SA-3 Mozambique, double check.

L-STAR, triple check.

Frags and Arc Stars, definitely check.

Now all that's left for him is trying to survive a couple of hormone-fuelled teenagers armed with superweapons coming at himself.

Jack scanned the entire arena with his eyes. Hundreds of eyes all focused on them. An open air arena, where IS obviously have a clear advantage. Of course, that's what they want to think.

Beside him, Zoe stood with her Assault Pilot armour, equipped with a Volt SMG, a B3 Wingman Elite, some Gravity Stars and Arc Grenades. He could also see a Phasing Kit on her back, and a weird circular device on her arm. Impressive, to say the least.

On the other side of the arena, stood two individuals, clad in their IS units. Cecilia Alcott, the IS representstive of England, and Ichika Orimura, the younger brother of the first Brunhilde.

He didn't accept this fight blindly, of course. He did his research. Alcott's personal IS, the Blue Tears, is a long-ranged based IS, utilizing tactical drones and long-ranged weapons like a sniper rifle to overwhelm its opponents. Apparently lacking any melee weapons. Basically, she's weak to close-range combat. A Ronin-based loadout should be enough.

Ichika Orimura's IS, the Byakushiki, is a close-ranged based IS, equipped with only one weapon in its arsenal, an energy sword designed to overwhelm opponents in close quarters combat. That's pretty much all he could gather about the IS. So, any longe-range loadout like the Northstar, or even medium-range loadouts like the Legion or Tone, should be a decent counter.

If things go rough, resorting to melee is also an option. Over the recent years, Hammond Robotics had made numerous upgrades to their Titan models to allow for more versatility in combat, including the installment of melee weaponry for every Titan class beside the Ronin. Now any Titan is capable of getting up close and personal if they need to.

But that was beside the point right now. He and Zoe needed to figure out an appropriate plan to survive at least one minute against their opponents without their Titans. Energy weapons could give plenty of sting, but it wouldn't be enough to take out their shields. They just needed to stall enough time.

Jack turned towards Zoe. "You got a plan?"

She didn't look back, but she did respond.

"Our only advantage is our body size and our agility. We'd be harder to hit as such small targets, and our skills as Pilots should be enough to try and evade their attacks.

However, they have air superiority and an edge in speed, which they could use to outmaneuver us. Not to mention more firepower compared to our own arsenal. Excluding luck as a reliable factor, our chances of winning are less than 60%. However, that is only a rough estimation, and could change depending on the situation."

"Well, assuming they underestimate our skills, I'd say our chances are higher than that."

"I suggest using the element of surprise. Utilize hit-and-run tactics. Use their lack of tactical information against them."

"You know...you don't have to talk like robot all the time."

"Suppressing normal human instinct is crucial for every soldier. Emotions usually only serve as a distraction in the battlefield."

"You're starting to sound like a freaking Titan."

"I take it that is sarcasm?"

"You think?...speaking of Titans, I've never seen your-"

"Now is not the time to talk. The match is about to begin."

Upon hearing her words, a loud voice echoed throughout the arena.

**"Match begin. Countdown: 1 minute."**

At the same time, an audio message was heard from his own helmet's internal comms, coming from the _Solaris._ He was expecting the message.

"_Solaris _to Pilot Jack Cooper, your Titan will arrive in ETA: 60 seconds. Good luck."

'Alright. Let's do this.'

-

Chifuyu Orimura stared at the monitor screen in suspense.

She anxiously waited to see how the seemingly one-sided battle would turn out. She personally picked Cecilia and Ichika together because she thought that Cecilia's long-ranged attacks paired with Ichika's deadly short-range strikes should complement each other's fighting styles and provide little opening to weaknesses to the enemy.

Alongside her, assistant teacher Maya Yamada. Behind her were three holographic screens, each showcasing the image of a certain important figure, whose presence in this match were kept hidden from the rest of the Academy. One of them was Hikaruno Kagaribi, the head researcher of the Kuromochi Research Center, who decided to watch out of sheer curiosity. The second guest was Juuzou Kutsuwagi, the principal of the academy himself, who had also taken interest in watching the match.

The last, but definitely not least, was none other than Tabane Shinonono, the inventor of the IS herself. Initially she wasn't planned to be invited, but by her own childish desire and ingenuity, managed to establish a highly secure, untraceable private comms link into the academy's network, just to be able to see her own invention battle against Hammond's trump card. After a brief "reunion session" with her "Chi-chan", she returned to a relatively calm demeanor.

"This ought to be so exciting! For years, I've been trying to get my hands on one of Hammond's Titans and understand their inner workings, and if possible, how to _enhance_ them. This feels like a once in a lifetime chance!" Hikaruno, the mad IS geek, exclaimed out of obvious excitement.

"Might I suggest that you calm down, Kagaribi-san. We all seek the same desire, but there's no need to get too enthusiastic." Principal Kutsuwagi decided to chime in. Tabane also decided to share her thoughts vocally.

"I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Katsuragi-san on this one. To think that the great invention of Tabane the Genius now has a supposed rival is an exhilirating thought indeed!"

"Umm...it's _Kagaribi_-san..."

"Hmm, what was that?"

"**Ahem**...gentlemen, I believe we should start paying attention to the main monitor. The match is about to begin." Chifuyu had to verbally stop the conversation so that her guests could return their attention to the important matter at hand.

On the screen, the image of the two Titan Pilots became visible. They were standing completely still, possibly planning something. Meanwhile, the two IS pilots, Cecilia and Ichika, already in their IS units, were hovering a few feet in the air, prepared to draw their weapons out and immediately corner the former two to a checkmate. They both needed to restrain themselves so as to prevent any fatal accidents, and only resort to non-lethal attacks with their IS. It sounded complicated, but should be easy enough for them.

After all, they both have the upper hand. Right?

**"Match begin. Countdown: 1 minute."**

As soon as the announcement was made, the two Titan Pilots suddenly..._vanished_ into thin air.

Chifuyu widened her eyes. Everyone else in the observation room did the same.

'What!?'

-

Ichika's eyes carefully scanned the two Pilots from Hammond.

Their outfits are eerily reminiscent of modern military armor and camo, and their helmets are of unique designs he had never seen before. It didn't feel human at all.

**"Match Begin. Countdown: 1 minute."**

For a second, the male Pilot's figure was there. And then it flickered. And then he was gone.

The female Pilot also suddenly disappeared, leaving a faint trail of blueish particles where she used to be.

Ichika's jaws physically dropped. He hadn't made his move yet, and they were suddenly...gone.

"I-Ichika!! They've disappeared!! But how!?" Cecilia's voice jolted him out of his train of thought.

"I..I don't-" **clang clang**

There was a metallic sound, and under him just several feet below, were two perfectly placed frag grenades.

He couldn't react fast enough.

**BOOM**

Two explosions occured, and Ichika slightly lost his balance. However, he managed to fly away from the ground, with 92% of his shield still remaining.

"Ichika!! Are you okay!?"

Ichika suddenly saw a silhoutte appearing out of thin air behind Cecilia, and she didn't seem to notice it.

"Cecilia!!! Behind you!!"

She was too late to respond, as a hail of energy projectiles made contact with her shields, slightly draining it.

Flying away into the air, she instinctively pulled out her Starlight Mk.III laser rifle, which was set to non-lethal rounds to retaliate, but she failed to see another barrage of red energy projectiles coming from another direction.

Hastily flying upwards with tremendous speed to escape the storm of projectiles, she was shocked to see that 7% of her energy shield was already down. A tremendous feat accomplished by two people who were _supposed _to be at a clear disadvantage.

Ichika, who was still relatively on the ground, narrowly avoided two more frag grenades exploding where he last stood. He locked eyes with the blue visor of Jack Cooper's helmet, now visible, and holding some kind of odd looking gun. Whose barrel was now pointed at him.

His eyes widened. He reacted quickly.

Dozens of red projectiles zipped through the air. Thanks to the speed of his IS, Ichika managed to easily dodge all of the projectiles. Holding his energy sword upward to block the incoming red projectiles, he immediately boosted forward using his thrusters, and tried to tackle Jack and hopefully knock him out immediately.

The keyword here is "tried".

His actions were for naught when all of a sudden, Jack's figure flickered into non-existence once more, and Ichika found himself nearly smashing the wall of the arena face-first.

'How the hell did he keep doing that!?'

Immediately recovering himself, Ichika was greeted by the sudden appearance of a triple-barreled gun in front of him.

**Bang**

Three high powered rounds collided with his shield, draining another percent of his shield. Reacting on instinct, Ichika tried roundhouse kicking the male Pilot away, but he managed to roll away from it and delivered another blast from his gun in return. Ichika frantically flew vertically to avoid anymore attacks from the surprisingly powerful hand cannon.

He thought he was safe out of range, until he felt a heavy weight on his left leg.

Looking down, Ichika was shocked to see a metallic claw firmly gripping his left leg, more specifically the IS part of his appendage, and attached to said claw was a long thin wire which was carrying a certain load. Armed with the triple barreled hand cannon.

Ichika resorted to performing rapid flight maneuvers to shake Jack off him, but the grappling hook was surprisingly strong, and his grip held tight. He hastily thought of an idea, by holding his energy sword and slashing the wire of the hook and ridding the load on his IS.

His idea never bore fruit, as Jack immediately detached his hook and fired three consecutive rounds using the gun in his right hand, further draining Ichika's shield. Jack freefell to the ground, and Ichika was suddenly hit with a wave of panic as he thought the Pilot wouldn't survive such a long fall.

Without thinking, he flew down to Jack's direction, hoping to catch him before his body met the earth.

Reaching out with his left hand, Ichika grabbed Jack's left arm and caught him midair.

"Are you alright!?"

Jack, even with his faceless helmet on, seemed quite shocked by Ichika's heroic act, and decided to repay his kindness.

"Thanks!...and sorry for this!"

And by "repay", he actually meant planting an Arc Star at Ichika's metallic arm appendage.

The resulting jolt caused severe electrical damage to Ichika's IS and momentarily discharged his energy shield, causing him to release his grip, and yet Jack managed to land safely on the ground with his Jump Kits, though Ichika didn't know that initially.

Ichika managed to immediately recover and flew far away from Jack as possible. He was astounded by the fact that Jack's recent attack had already drained 15 percent of his shields.

The sounds of explosions behind him caused Ichika to look back to be greeted by the sight of Cecilia utilizing her Tears to simply level the entire battlefield from high up in the sky. Her shields were already down to 20 percent.

"God dammit, where the hell is she!!?" Cecilia exclaimed loudly, filled with rage. She knew this would be breaking the rules, but she didn't care anymore. She simply couldn't believe it. A single "pilot" who didn't even have an IS to begin with, managed to outsmart and outmaneuver her multiple times, and already drained nearly a quarter of her IS shields, and it hasn't even been 1 minute yet!

A terrifying realization struck her. How long has it been since the beginning of the fight? Has it already been 1 minute?

**"Countdown: 10 seconds."**

10 seconds!? 50 seconds have already passed, and her shields are already down 20 percent!? And these "pilots" haven't even gotten serious yet!

Just as her Tears have stopped firing, the figure of the female Pilot, Zoe Grey, reappeared into reality once more.

Realizing this is her chance, Cecilia hurriedly zoomed in on her Blue Pierce, preparing to fire a single paralyzing round, which was sure to hurt for someone without an IS.

She fired, but the projectile didn't hit its target.

Cecilia stared in silence.

'You have got to be _shitting_ me.'

Unexpected to her, or by anyone watching, a large, bluish dome shield surrounded the female Pilot, shielding her entirely from harm. A flickering image began forming visibly beside her, which turned out to be Jack Cooper, who took the time when Ichika wasn't paying attention to him to sprint back towards Zoe to get inside her Dome Shield. A question mark began forming in his mind.

"A Dome Shield for Pilots? How come I didn't hear of this?"

"Titanfall in 3 seconds."

Right. He could pry out information from her later.

Right now, it's time to get serious.

**"Countdown: 1 second."**

**"STANDBY FOR TITANFALL."**

The announcement was not unheard of by everyone present in the arena.

Ichika and Cecilia was dumbstruck, unfamiliar with the term. A Titanfall? Does that mean...

A ominous sound of something piercing through the atmosphere began ringing throughout the arena.

Slicing through the clouds, two large objects became visible from the pale blue sky, crashing to the earth at an alarming speed.

Two loud explosions followed, and dozens of debris fell from the sky. The two objects began taking a humanoid form.

**CRASH**

The shockwave was unprecedented. The thunderous bang of metal hitting the ground could be heard across the entire academy.

As the smoke cleared, the two large silhouttes became more visible. Hulking beasts, each one stood over 6 metres tall, easily towering over every other exoskeletal machinery and IS known to man.

One of them sported a unique but nearly identical Tone chassis design, complete with a green-white-orange paintjob combination.

The second one harbored a similar design to the Northstar model but with bulkier armor, covered with a red-black-blue color scheme to complete the look.

Zoe's Dome Shield eventually ran out of energy, and both Pilots made their way to their respective Titans.

Jack Cooper hopped onto the interior of his Vanguard-class Titan, BT-7274. Upon closing the chassis, his helmet automatically established a neural link between his mind and his Titan.

A familiar voice greeted his comms.

"Neural link established. Welcome back, Pilot Cooper."

"Nice to see you again, BT."

As the Dome Shield surrounding his Titan eventually disappeared, Jack, now piloting BT, pulled out the 40mm Tracker Cannon, ready to finish the fight.

He took a look to his opponents, Cecilia and Ichika, who had been _petrified_ the whole time.

With confidence, he smiled.

'Now this, is where the real fun begins.'

-

Silence permeated the observation room, where five distinct figures stood awestruck.

Chifuyu Orimura, the proclaimed strongest IS pilot, the first Brunhilde, was visibly jaw-dropped by the display she had just laid eyes on.

She had seen it in the live recordings before, only ones captured during the Washington Incident.

To be able to see it happening firsthand, was a whole new experience.

She briefly recalled what the male Pilot, Jack Cooper, said to her before, and couldn't help but agree with him.

'Now that is one **hell** of an entrance.'

\--

\--

**Author's Note**

**Wooh. This took a while to write and read. I apologize for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, I tried my best.**

**Honestly, I don't have much to write here. Except the next chapter is probably going to be awesome, since we'll finally get to see Titans fighting against the Infinite Stratos. If you were expecting more, I'm sorry. This is the most I could do, and my fingers are tired from typing right now.**

**Like I mentioned before, some familiar, or unfamiliar terms will be explained in later chapters. More new characters are to come. More Titans and Pilots to kick ass. And more Jack and BT coming soon.**

**Hopefully I managed to make this fight seem "realistic" enough, even if some characters might feel OOC. The short fight was just to set up an example that will be prominent in the story, and that is, "don't fuck with a Pilot." No, I'm not trying to bash on the IS. Okay, well, kinda, since Titans are more buffed in this story than their canon versions, but this is still an Infinite Stratos fanfic, so there will be some IS action to come, if you ask for it.**

**(Fun fact: Jack Cooper is perhaps the tallest "student" in the IS Academy, since he's over 180 cm tall. Zoe Grey is around the same height as Chifuyu Orimura. Just to let you know.)**

**Sayonara, and thanks for reading.**


	4. The Fated Battle

Fear is a natural phenomenon. An instinctual drive that every living thing possess. The drive to survive.

Fear could come from anywhere, even places we would least expect. Fear of the dark. The light. The unknown. The familiar.

Houki Shinonono was no stranger to fear. Fear of the bullies who once mocked her, fear of never being able to see Ichika again after the public introduction of the IS to the world, which caused her to be separated from him years ago.

Such ill memories, they were nothing compared to the terror she felt at this moment.

Minutes ago, crowds of ecstatic cheering by the spectators could be heard all across the arena. Students from the entire IS Academy expressed their glorifications towards two particular IS pilots who stood within said arena, showered with hopes of winning what could perhaps be the most important battle in the history of the academy.

Now, there was only silence.

Gone were the cheers. The excitement. The thrill of an entertaining match to behold.

In their place, was fear. An understandable fear of something none of the women had ever seen before.

Houki could not verbally express the jealousy she felt when Ichika was chosen along with Cecilia to represent the academy in the battle, but then again, she didn't have a personal IS to begin with, and she would think smarter than to object to Ms. Orimura's decisions.

Still, she reluctantly attended the match in order to keep cheering for Ichika, hoping that he would pull through and win, no matter who he went up against.

Her expectations, had ceremoniously, been thrown out the window.

The two representatives flof Hammond Robotics, the Titan Pilots, didn't look like _actual_ pilots at all. They didn't wear the same skin tight outfits that IS pilots use, instead wearing some sort of combat outfit complete with armor vests and harnesses.

The male Pilot, Jack Cooper, wore a crimson jacket and leggings, while also equipped with an armor vest, knee pads and a multitude of harnesses on his body. He also had a strange bulky object resembling rocket nozzles on his lower back, whose function she couldn't quite guess. But perhaps the strangest thing was the futuristic helmet he wore which perfectly disguised his face. The glowing visor did quite well to send chills to her.

The female, Zoe Grey, wore an indigo full-body combat camo with also an armor vest layered on top, designed to weirdly fit her feminine physique. She also had knee pads, straps across her shoulders and the same nozzled object on her lower back. Her helmet was however of a different design than Cooper's, having a more alien look with its 4 separate visors imitating the face of an insect.

But what alarmed her the most were the** firearms** strapped on their backs and sides. The Infinite Stratos shields were designed in such a way that normal guns were rendered ineffective against them. And yet they were using them for this match? And where would they get those firearms in the first place? Aren't they supposed to be piloting their Titans? And yet they were armed to the teeth as if going into a warzone.

To be honest, it did make sense the more Houki thought about it. These so-called Pilots were challenging two IS pilots in a battle, and they were giving themselves a handicap by not deploying their Titans until the first minute has passed. It sounded almost like suicide considering what they were up against, so she expected that the match would be over before it even started ,with both Cecilia and Ichika both being able to overpower the two Hammond candidates considering their obvious superiority.

And then, as if fate wanted to pull tricks on her, her expectations were driven straight into the ground and then buried six feet deep under tons of concrete.

In the first minute alone, the two representatives of Hammond Robotics managed to _somehow _hold their ground against both Ichika and Cecilia, outsmarting and outmaneuvering them using some sort of technology she had never seen before. What's even more astonishing was the fact that they did without even using their own powered exoskeletons.

Invisibility technology was something that no IS, at least ones she knew of, have had the capability to pull off as of now. Much less optimizing them for use by the Pilots without even having to deploy their own Titans.

Afterwards, they used their firearms against both Ichika and Cecilia, and for _some _reason their shields were** going** down substantially. The projectiles coming from said firearms also did not look like standard infantry rounds, as they resemble energy projectiles, something that only the _IS_ were supposed to be capable of.

Houki was angry. Not at herself. Not at Ichika or Cecilia. But at the two Pilots.

Okay a bit of it was directed at Cecilia due to jealousy, but mostly they were directed towards the Pilots due to their unorthodox method of fighting, at least from her perspective. Utilizing hit-and-run tactics and deceiving your enemy by constantly hiding from their line of sight like a coward, and then taking advantage of them from behind, is in no way the most honorable way of a warrior to fight a battle.

It did make sense in a way though, as she couldn't think of any other way for the Pilots to be able to stand a chance against the IS, but still.

As she was lost in her thoughts, Houki was brought back to reality when a voice from the speakers flared an announcement. A single sentence.

A sentence that would forever haunt her mind.

**_"STANDBY FOR TITANFALL."_**

As soon as those words echoed into her eardrums, she felt goosebumps rippling throughout her body, for reasons she herself couldn't think of.

Somehow, the heavens heard her curiosity, and answered. Though the answer wasn't what she was expecting.

At first, there was an ominous ambience. Unnoticeable initially, but it grew louder.

And then, two fireballs seemingly appeared from the clouds. And it caught everyone's attention.

The fireballs grew bigger, as it burned through the thick atmosphere, its bright yellow flames highly contrasting the dim blue sky. The clouds split apart in their paths, and the fireballs exploded with a deafening bang.

Not long after, two explosions occured in the arena, the result of searing metal colliding with the earth at sonic speeds, the shockwaves felt across the entire arena-no, the_entire _academy itself. The knocked up debris and dust covered half of the arena, and as the haze settled, stood on top of a couple of burning craters, were the Pilots' greatest trump card.

Over 20 feet and 40 tons of metal each. Equipped with the most advanced combat technology Hammond could offer, and an overall intimidating appearance.

The Titans have made their entrance to the battle. And it was one hell of an entrance indeed.

The students were silent. In fact, Houki was sure pretty much everyone was rendered completely mute by the explosive introduction. Even the instructors who were present. Even herself.

Afterwards, both Pilots sprinted towards their respective Titans, and embarked into their chassis. She still couldn't figure out how exactly they were going to pilot while wearing such uncomfortable clothing.

Huge gasps were drawn by the students when they looked at the large screens placed on the spectators' view, displaying the shield energy levels of the combatants currently inside the arena.

Houki wondered what made them so surprised, until she saw the screen herself, and noticed the shield levels of the Titans.

Almost literally, her jaws dropped to the floor.

In a short span of time, almost an instant, Houki felt genuine fear.

Fear that this match may not end the way she expected it to be.

_

Cecilia Alcott was petrified.

She thought she had the upper hand. She thought this match would be over in less than a minute.

But the minute has already passed, and she still failed, despite having the upper hand.

The Titans...they were different. Very different than what she expected. Large, bulky, and lacking the streamlined, aerodynamic appearance that IS usually have. Their various exposed mechanized parts and hydraulics made them seem more primitive compared to the IS' sleeker design. And yet, it just made them look even more menacing.

She briefly glanced at the large screen on the edge of the arena, which displayed all of the IS combatants' shield levels. Surprisingly, it also showed the Titans' shield levels as well.

Just like the IS, the Titans' shield energy levels were displayed as bars and numbers on the screen. Strangely, both Titans have not one, but _two_ shield bars.

The first bar only showed 100 energy units, which was a surprisingly small amount, considering even a standard model 2nd Gen IS unit possess at least 600 units of shield energy.

Her eyes widened upon looking at the second bar.

**'6000 units!? 10 times the shield level of a standard IS!?'**

To say she was frightened would be a massive understatement. The Titans' sizes weren't just for show. They could really take some serious punishment.

But the question is, could they dish out just as much as they could withstand?

Titans seem to lack wings or any flight mechanics that an IS would typically have. That should be a major weakness which she could exploit.

Cecilia took a deep breath. She would not falter this easily. Those damned pilot rip-offs would not take her for a fool again. She was the national pride of England, for god's sake. And above all, she would not be defeated in front of Ichika.

She gritted her teeth. Only 80 percent of her shield left. Should be enough. She still had plenty of energy for her weapon and Tears. She still had her secret weapons intact. She could pull this off, right?

"It's alright, Ichika-san...we could still do this. We will not be played with again like before. We could still show them that IS is superior to Titans, and we'll teach them a lesson not to underestimate us. Right Ichika-san?

...Ichika?"

Cecilia looked at her partner, who was still solidified like a statue. She wondered why he hasn't responded yet. Is his comms device broken or something?

Unknown to her, Ichika was horror-struck. He wasn't scared. He was **terrified**. Terrified of the metallic beasts in front of him. Not for the same reasons others would have.

He was terrified, because he had _seen _them before.

3 years ago, during the second Mondo Grosso championship, when he was kidnapped and taken hostage by a terrorist group, an incident which forced his sister Chifuyu, to forfeit the finals just to come to his aid.

His memories of the event were hazy at best, but he did remember one thing that stood out the most, among other things.

He remembered the menacing lights illuminating his face coming from the lens of a large metallic being. So large it towered over everything else in its vicinity. Its cold grip rubbing across his bloodied face. The faceless chassis and its singular luminous eye radiating malevolence, an inhuman stare that could kill him a hundred times over.

He didn't know what the thing was, but it terrified him to the core. To this day he still didn't know.

Until now.

"-chika!? ICHIKA!!"

Cecilia's panicked voice forced him back to reality. Ichika realized he had unintentionally spaced out for a minute, mentally paralyzed by the visage in front of him.

"I..I'm sorry, Cecilia. I wasn't paying attention."

"Are you alright? What's wrong!?"

"It..it's nothing. I'm fine, Cecilia."

"**Ahem**..you guys done?"

Another male voice grabbed both IS pilots' attention. Halfway across the arena several metres under them, stood the two Vanguard-class Titans, one of them with its chassis wide open showing Jack Cooper in his Pilot cockpit, as if trying to mock them.

Ichika gulped. He had no idea how to fight against these hulking automatons. Their massive size and weight might suggest they're incapable of flight, which would give both him and Cecilia an upper hand.

The problem with that is, while Cecilia would have no trouble commencing aerial strikes, Ichika needed to get up close and personal if he wanted to land a hit, since Byakushiki only has one close range weapon in its arsenal. They needed to come up with a solid plan if they were to take both Titans out.

"What's the plan, Ichika-san?" Cecilia asked.

"Cecilia, you have your rifle and your Tears, right? Use them. I'll try to get close if I can. We'll attack from different sides, and try to separate them."

"Be careful."

Cecilia immediately flew away from the ground level, taking advantage of her height, her Starlight Mk.III rifle equipped.

Ichika's IS immediately transformed into a 1st Shift, the result of the IS' complete configuration settings to suit the functions of its user. The Yukihira Type 2 blade shone brightly under the sunlight, held on his right hand.

He will win this battle, not just for himself, but for Cecilia, and most importantly, for Chifuyu as well.

_

Jack Cooper closed the open chassis of BT-7274, preparing to battle the two IS pilots alongside his new partner.

This wasn't his first time fighting an IS, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last.

"BT, change loadout to 'Tone'."

BT immediately summoned a 40mm Tracker Cannon to his robotic palms, imitating the IS' Equalizer technology.

"Pilot, I sense high energy levels coming from the IS unit designated, 'Byakushiki'. I suggest proper caution."

Upon hearing BT's warning, Jack gazed upon a sight that he'd never thought he would see. Ichika Orimura's IS was suddenly covered in bright light, and in a split second, his IS had changed appearance.

The metal plates seemed more robust in a way, now sporting a mostly white and blue color pattern, with its outermost metal wings which imitate the flight feathers of an avian, seemed as if they were made of gold.

Now that was interesting. Jack didn't know an IS could do that. This might be more challenging than he thought.

"Well, that was pretty interesting. Thanks for the heads up, BT."

"Copy that, Pilot."

"..here is where you say, 'you're welcome'."

"You're welcome, Pilot."

He opened up a comms link to Zoe, inside her Titan, LZ-4117.

[Link Established.]

"Got any plans, Zoe?"

"I'll be using a Northstar loadout, providing you with fire support from a distance. Considering your Tone loadout, I highly suggest utilizing your Particle Wall ability and create suppressive fire. Use your rockets as much as possible."

"You wouldn't need to tell me that, but fair enough."

He couldn't help but smirk. This ought to be fun.

Meanwhile, Zoe's Titan, LZ-4117, spoke to her Pilot in a feminine but robotic voice.

"Zoe, I suggest we focus onto the male pilot and his IS, as our loadout should prove advantageous against his strictly melee unit. Jack Cooper could concentrate on the female pilot as his loadout should provide ample firepower against her unit."

"Understood. Let's do this, Liz."

Zoe, while surprisingly showing a bit of emotion towards LZ, or "Liz", sprinted to the back with the Railgun in hand, leaving Jack and BT in the front as he immediately deployed a Particle Wall in front of him.

Two consecutive high-powered shots made contact with the Wall, courtesy of Cecilia and her laser rifle. Ichika dashed forward aiming for Jack, but he was forced to dodge an incoming round from Zoe's Railgun.

Cecilia opened fire upon Jack, but her energy rounds were stopped by the Particle Wall. Jack responded by firing his Tracker Cannon towards her, but she was quick enough to dodge the rounds.

She was surprised, however, when Jack suddenly fired a barrage of rockets from BT's Acolyte Pod.

Instinctively, she flew away from the rockets' flight pathway. Or at least, that's what she hoped.

Instead, the Tracking Rockets continued to pursue Cecilia's IS, forcing her to perform several quick maneuvers to lose the tail.

As she was busy dodging the rockets, she failed to see the oncoming projectiles from Jack's Tracker Cannon. Several explosive rounds impacted her shield, draining a percentage of her energy.

Jack prepared to fire again, but his attention was swayed away from Cecilia and onto Ichika as he saw the male pilot in his Byakushiki dashing around the edges of the arena, in an attempt to attack him from behind.

Ichika's effort bore no fruit as he was stopped by a powerful energy round impacting his shield, coming from Zoe's Plasma Railgun.

Ichika immediately dashed away, dodging three more shots from Zoe's railgun. Cecilia regained her composure and aimed her weapon towards Zoe, but then her Titan did something unexpected. It vanished.

Confusion once again clouded her mind, followed with frustration.

'Again!? You coward!!'

Scowling, she frantically searched the entire arena to look for the missing Titan, but it was fruitless. Another energy round impacted her shield from behind, and her shield level is reduced to 50 percent.

Panicking, she took off to the air further and deployed her Tears, all of them focused on the female Pilot and her Titan, surprising the latter.

Zoe couldn't react on time, and she received numerous shots from Cecilia's Tears, before she managed to dash away in safety. As she was busy dashing away, however, she failed to react to Cecilia's quick shot from her laser rifle, and her Titan's first shield bar was completely drained.

At the same time, Ichika swiftly dodged Jack's shots and even made quick work of his Tracking Rockets, before diving in and delivered a powerful slash on his side, draining his Titan's first shield bar. He quickly made a quick turn with his thrusters and delivered another slash to completely drain his first bar, not giving the Titan Pilot a chance to recover, before flying away.

Both IS pilots grinned, delighted at the fact that they managed to drain the Titans' shields. But their same satisfaction, was replaced with horror when they glanced upon the screen displaying their shield levels.

The Titans' shield bars which they had just drained, for some reason _refilled _itself back to full, within seconds. At first they thought it was just a hallucination, but then the IS pilots dreadfully realized what exactly happened.

**'They have _regenerating_ shields!!?'**

They didn't know it at first, but all Vanguard-class Titans were equipped with not one, but two bodyshields, with the outer shield having significantly less energy capacity but can be regenerated over time, and the second one having a large energy caapcity at the expense of not being able to recharge itself in battle. A powerful defensive advantage only the Titans possessed.

Ichika gulped in fear. He couldn't think of a way for them to win this match. If the Titans' shields could simply regenerate itself, they could keep fighting without end for long periods of time, and by then, both him and Cecilia would've run out of energy and lost the match.

Cecilia was terrified, but mostly enraged. She couldn't imagine how much more hidden tricks these Pilots could pull off to surprise them, and she was genuinely scared of knowing the answer. Her pride and arrogance had vanished. She had underestimated those Pilots, and now it was coming back to bite her in the face.

But she refused to give up that easily. Titans may be able to take a lot of punishment, but they sure as hell aren't invincible. She theorized that perhaps only the first energy shield, with such a small energy capacity, would have the ability to recharge itself. The second energy shield would function the same way as an IS shield, albeit with a much higher capacity.

If she could try to concentrate fire on one of the Titans without stopping, there is a chance she could overpower the first shield's regenerative factor and drain the second gradually. That is, if her theory was correct.

The problem is, she would need Ichika's help to distract one of them so she could concentrate on the other.

"Ichika!! Pay attention to me! We need to-"

A powerful energy projectile whizzed past where her head used to be, which would've hit its mark if she didn't react fast enough. Ichika had to do the same as another cluster of rockets flew after him.

Jack and Zoe knew that giving the IS pilots time to recover and formulate a plan would be stupid, so they decided to stop them from being able to conversate with one another. In war, you don't give your enemy any chances.

"Ichika!! We need to-ugh!!...we need to find a way to overcome their shields! I'll focus my Tears on one of them and you distract the other!!" Cecilia voiced out to Ichika while mid-flight, narrowly avoiding the railgun shots.

"Alright!!" Ichika zig-zagged, avoiding Jack's explosive rounds, and closing in towards him. He knew that he would have a bigger advantage up close with his Yukihira Type 2, he just needed to avoid getting shot by then.

As he was getting close, Ichika swung his blade towards Jack's Titan, but the latter saw it coming.

A large chainsaw blade clashed with Ichika's sword, catching him off guard. The vibrating chains created a deafening sound of clashing metals, forcing Ichika to back away, worried that his blade may get damaged.

Jack dashed to the side and aimed his Tracker Cannon at Ichika, but the latter swerved around him to evade his shots.

Jack aimed again, but his efforts were crushed when he received a barrage of attakcs from Cecilia's Tears, which happened to be doing a good job of keeping both him and Zoe preoccupied. At the same time, she fired a cluster of rockets towards Zoe, prompting the latter to Cloak once more, hiding herself from gunfire.

As Jack was distracted, Ichika thought of an idea, utilizing his last resort to immediately drain Jack's Titan's bodyshields completely, but it came at a high risk, a risk he was willing to take.

Activating his One Off Ability, Reiraku Byakuya, Ichika visibly saw the shield meter of his IS drastically going down. He knew that executing this attack would have a high chance of eliminating him from the match the moment his shield go down to zero, but if it meant giving Cecilia more of a chance, he'll gladly take the risk.

As the Yukihira Type 2 transformed into an energy blade, Ichika used his Ignition Boost, propelling him forward, and tried to surprise him from behind, swiftly bringing it down to BT's chassis.

**"AaaaaaAAAAGHH!!!"**

Emphasis on the word "tried".

In a sudden, almost _comedic_ move, Yukihira's hilt was almost immediately stopped by BT's cold, metal hand. Yukihira's blade was barely touching BT's layered bodyshield.

Followed by the whole crowd who was present in the match, slack-jawed.

Ichika himself was frozen stiff, completely caught off-guard by the action.

Jack decided to speak out through BT's speaker, in the middle of the pause.

"Here's a pro tip, kid: don't shout your attacks."

In a split second, BT's chassis opened, and Jack suddenly jumped out of his cockpit and climbed onto Ichika's IS, surprising Ichika. He tried to move, but BT's firm grip on the hilt of his sword proved it was easier said than done.

Jack almost instantly attached an Arc Star onto Ichika's IS' right wing, before jumping off and grappling back to his cockpit, followed by BT's chassis promptly closing.

BT's grip eventually loosened, but before Ichika could do anything, he was sent flying away with a kick, courtesy of BT.

Ichika tried to move in for another attack, but the Arc Star activated itself, and Ichika's Byakushiki suffered a serious electrical shock, disabling his wings causing him to crash to the ground.

In a fraction of a second, Jack fired another barrage of Tracking Rockets towards Ichika while he was down, effectively depleting his already low shield reserves to zero, forcing the activation of his Absolute Barrier.

**"Ichika Orimura: Eliminated."**

"ICHIKA!!!"

Cecilia was furious at this point. She released all available rockets on her Blue Tears, and directed all her Tears towards Jack's Titan.

Her attacks bore some fruition, as she managed to drain BT's recharging shield and even draining 10 percent of his permanent shield.

She didn't know it, but this would be the last time she would be able to smile in this match.

**"Salvo Core Online."**

BT's robotic voice became music in Jack's ears.

**"Flight Core Online."**

Zoe kept her face stoic, but deep inside she also felt a hint of satisfaction.

Simultaneously, both Titans fired a volley of missiles from their Acolyte Pods, shocking Cecilia to the core. She wasn't expecting such a heavy attack coming from both Titans at once.

She desperately flew away and tried to outmaneuver the missiles, but LZ's fast suppressive missiles accompanied by BT's storm of homing missiles eventually managed to overwhelm her. There were just too many of those damned missiles.

The combination of two successive Core Abilities and the seemingly endless hail of explosives coming her way eventually left Cecilia with no room to evade, and her shield took massive damage, emptying her energy reserves as well.

**"Cecilia Alcott: Eliminated.**

**End**** of Match. Winner: Jack Cooper and Zoe Grey."**

_

The whole atmosphere of the arena was...a distasteful mixture of melancholy and bitterness, to say the least.

After all, the sight of a national representative, and the younger sibling of the first Brunhilde, getting their asses practically handed over to them, wasn't exactly the prettiest sight to behold.

Students were gasping, wide-eyed, trying to comprehend what had happened. Some were even sobbing and crying, unable to supress their emotions.

Houki Shinonono stood in silence, filled with heartache. Waves of discontent at the outcome of the match plagued her. She couldn't accept the fact that Ichika would lose so easily.

But alas, she had no power to change reality. The Infinite Stratos lost, and lost hard. The IS Academy, and gradually the world, had finally seen the true power of the Titans and their Pilots.

She didn't want to see it happen again. She didn't want to see Ichika lose badly again. She swore that she'll help him get better. Hammond Robotics won this time, but there's always another chance.

Her fists shook with hatred. She wasn't angry at the fact that the Infinite Stratos lost, she was angry that Ichika was the one at the receiving end of it.

This will not be the end. She will make sure of it.

_

Silence filled the observation room.

The recent spectacle was mournful for some, but also drew fascination from others.

Chifuyu's eyes were grim. She was disappointed that Ichika lost, but that was to be expected. Titans...they were too powerful. Even proving too much for a 3rd Gen IS to bear. Granted, both Cecilia Alcott and Ichika Orimura weren't total experts in IS, since they were both still students. They barely managed to scratch their shields, but the Titans took them out swiftly in less than 3 minutes.

But based on her observations alone, each Titan had an overwhelming amount of firepower, combined with their impressive defensive power, created a terrifying force to be reckoned with. These things obviously weren't created for mere sports, but for war. The IS had also been proposed for military use before, but the Alaska Treaty had prevented that. Still, it didn't stop some..unconventional parties from using them though.

Even the Pilots alone showed incredible combat skill without their Titans, unfit for mere "students". Their firearms were obviously designed by Lastimosa Armory, a company specializing in advanced infantry weaponry. Their manufactured weapons were much more powerful than standard infantry firearms, capable of dealing sizable damage even to IS. But those were essentially military-grade weapons. Yet these "students" possessed it in their armory.

Their equipments were like nothing she had ever seen before. Most of them seemed like IS Equalizers or Titan equipments but miniaturized for use by a single person. Hammond's tech was truly nothing to be scoffed at.

Furthermore, the Pilots' combat skill during the first minute suggested that this, may not be their first time against IS. That detail alarmed her, more than anything else.

It was pretty obvious at this point. Hammond wasn't merely sending students to showcase their tech. These teenagers were battle-hardened soldiers, trained for _war_, not for school tournaments.

"HA ha ha ha ha ha hah...oh Hammond, you always have a way to surprise us all."

Chifuyu was broken out of her thoughts by Tabane Shinonono's unexpected laugh and remark. It confused her how she seemed to take this rather well, since her creation had apparently lost this match against Hammond's creation.

"Oh, I could notice the bewilderment in your eyes, Chi-chan, but I'm also impressed by Hammond's marvel. Albeit slightly surprised they ripped off my favourite method of sending stuff down from the sky with their "Titanfall" method. I should've probably trademarked it.."

Tabane's expression suddenly changed into a sorrowful one, with tears in her eyes, almost comically.

"Ohh..but I'm also deeply saddened by the outcome..**sob**..it's such a shame that Ikkun lost, I had high hopes for him...**sob**..."

And her expression returned to her usual cheerful, and slightly boastful attitude.

"**But**!! Even the great genius Tabane prefers a challenge once in a while! It gets _lonely_ if there's no one who could rival my invention and give me something fun to play with, and now...looks like I've found my match."

Tabane stared at the monitor screen in glee, her eyes focused on the display of the Titans, standing in triumph over the arena.

'Hammond...I accept your challenge.'

"Ahem, Orimura-san...you know what happens now."

Juuzou Kutsuwagi's voice alarmed Chifuyu. Of course she knew what would happen. The recorded clip of this match would be viewed by all the major leaders of the world, and even the heads of the major IS companies worldwide. Controversies are bound to happen. It's hard to predict how the public or the media would react once they found out.

"Interesting indeed...their massive size, though proven cumbersome, provides ample space for additional upgrades such as an increased battery capacity, which in turn increases the capacity of the energy shield, and even allowing rechargeable shields during battle. Also possessing physical compression technology used by standard IS for storing additional equipment, yet incapable of digital compression of themselves, lacking a closed form and required to be deployed via orbital drop. Their closed chassis offers more protection for their Pilots, perhaps suggesting a prolonged functionality during combat in case of depleted energy shield..."

"Ahem, Hikaruno-san.." Chifuyu's voice stopped Kagaribi's overdrawn explanation.

"Ahh, yes? Oh, sorry..I must've spaced out."

Chifuyu's attention returned to the monitor screen. Her emotion changed from contempt, to a sense of foreboding. She knew that others would feel the same way.

Two representatives of one of the largest companies in the world, showcasing the capabilities of their own tech against one of the most dangerous weapons known to man, and succesfully doing so in their favor. Almost like they intended to gain the attention of the entire world, showing the superiority of their Titans against a weapon that had been the most feared one by the whole globe for over a decade.

No doubt the records of this match would spread like wildfire. It's like they were purposefully trying to gain some unwanted attention from...less benevolent independent parties with ill intentions. She couldn't help but be perturbed.

This ought to be a very long year.

\--

\--

**Author's Note**

**Another moderately long chapter from me. I tried to make the battle as realistic and fun as possible, so if you don't like it, sorry but if you do, well I'm glad to entertain.** **I mean, it looks cool and all in my head, but writing it down? Not so much.**

**Some of you who have played the games might notice how the Titans have additional abilities and equipments which weren't present in the canon. Like I said, the Titans are buffed in this story to make them more intimidating and challenging for the IS, since IS are just pretty OP even in the anime. I might even have to change some of their stats and abilities to make them fight better compared to their canon counterparts.**

**Yeah, I'm a Titanfall fan, of course I'm gonna side more heavily with the games. But I'm not going to completely bash on the anime, unless of course, that's what you want. In which case, I'll happily oblige. But then it wouldn't be an Infinite Stratos fanfic in the first place****, so it wouldn't make sense.**

**I realize there is still stuff I haven't fully explained in earlier chapters, I promise I will explain it eventually. I'm just figuring out how to make it fun to read without making it an exposition dump, if possible.****I might not update this story in a while, becuase this isn't the only story I'm writing as of now. My other fanfics haven't had a new update in...what, weeks? Man, I really need to set up a writing schedule.****Adios. Is that how you use it? Doesn't matter, goodbye anyway. And thanks for reading.**


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